The beauty of mistakes

The beauty of mistakes is that they show you what you need to change.  Every successful business man has had failures along the way that have shown him what not to do.  Coaches regularly tell athletes what they are doing wrong so that they can be aware of what to stop doing, then go and practice what they should be doing (follow that?).

Ya know, I know all of this intellectually but still have to pull myself up off the ground from the beating I give myself after a mistake, even after small ones.  But I was reminded on Mother's day from a couple of great talks in church that even though I may not be the person/mother I had planned on being, what counts is that I keep trying.  My perspective may be limited to a few years but God's perspective is eternal.  We need to remember that He is merciful and continues to give us opportunities to learn from mistakes so that we can ultimately succeed. 

So with another renewing Sunday almost over, I'm going to start again.  I'll strive this week to not put my foot in my mouth, to not lose patience, to not lose hope or faith, to not give in to my appetite, etc, etc....

Chances are I will have to make this same statement again next week.  The beauty of the atonement is that it's allowed.